Tips outlined to avoid herbicide drift
CHICAGO - The only a ,., ( ..ay
to sidestep problems with soybean
drift injury when spraying corn foi
broadleaf weeds is to make the
application before soyb.t
through the ground. That’s the
advice Extension specialists can
offer for totally eliminating con
cerns over herbicide drift.
"Our best suggestion is to spray
for broadleaf weeds before corn is
five inches high,” says lowa State
University Extension weed conti ol '
specialist Mike Owen. “There is a
good chance that soybeans will not
be emerged at that time, and
overall weed control can be im
proved.”
Early corn planting and early
broadleaf control are also part of
the recommendations of William
Meggitt, Extension weed control
specialist with Michigan State
University.
“If you can plan to apply
broadleaf herbicides on com prior
to the five-inch stage at an early
date, you’ll rarely have problems
with bean damage,” Meggitt says.
The specialists feel that even if
soybeans are emerged and minor
drift occurs early, soybeans will
come out of the stress with little or
no actual yield reduction. Known
by reputation as a crop that
bounces back from stress as well
as any, it’s still best to avoid the
situation altogether, if possible.
Later applications
Generally, the smaller the spray
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droplet size and the higher the
wind speed, the greater the
distance spray particles can
travel. Wind velocities are usually
lowest in early morning or late in
the day, so applications made at
those times of the day could help to
reduce actual occurence of drift.
Owen suggests several
operational procedures which can
help to reduce the percentage of
“fines” in the spray emission. Low
spray pressure, high water
volume, and proper nozzle
selection all play important roles.
“For example, if you choose
hollow cone nozzles, use a pressure
of 60 p.s.i. and apply 10 gallons of
water per acre, you’re going to
produce a very high percentage of
fines,” Owen says. “Reducing the
pressure to about 20 p.s.i. and
raising the gallonage to 20 per acre
would supply a significant
reduction in the number of fines in
the spray.”
Steve Pearson, Extension
assistant in agricultural
engineering at the University of
Illinois, says switching to a dif
ferent size or type of spray nozzle
can also help. Special drift
reducing nozzles are commercially
available in Spraying Systems’ LP
(low pressure) flat fans or
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One of the easiest and most ef
fective methods of reducing drift is
to keep the height of the boom low,
Pearson adds. A height of 24 inches
or less is generally sufficient. In
addition, use of drift-reducing
additives, such as Nalco-Trol
(made by Nalco Chemical Com
pany ) help reduce a percentage of
fine spray particles produced.
Additional Tips
Richard Wilson, Field Scientist
for Velsicol Chemical Corporation
who has done extensive research
on herbicide drift, offers some
additional tips which apply when
using Banvel herbicide near
sensitive crops:
Make application when there is
some air movement in order to
judge direction and distance of
potential drift, but when wind is
less than five m.p.h.
Do not apply Banvel if daily
temperature is expected to be
higher than 85 degrees.
Depending on wind direction and
speed, leave an adequate buffer
zone and spray that area under
more suitable conditions.
Aerial application equipment
should never be used to apply
Banvel when sensitive crops are in
the immediate vicinity.
The
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Wilson emphasizes that all
factors which affect spray particle
size and movement pressure,
water volume, environmental
factors, etc. should be con
sidered by the spray applicator in
order to form an effective drift
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Bush Hog honors Weaver
CARLISLE Bob Weaver,
Carlisle, Bush Hog representative
for Pennsylvania, was recently
named to the Bush Hog Million
Dollar Club, an organization which
recognizes representatives who
have done over one million dollars
in sales volume.
Bush Hog is one of the largest
manufacturers of farm im-
PPG promotes Chandler
PITTSBURGH Charles M.
Chandler has been named to the
new post of Atlantic district
biochemicals sales manager for
PPG Industries. He had been a
PPG biochemicals field sales
representative in the eastern
United States since 1977.
Chandler joined PPG in 1969 as a
biochemicals field research and
development specialist. He held
Todays profit minded poultry, swine, and grain
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“System thinking” can help you plan away problems
before you begin, or it can help you automate away
problems you now have.
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‘Good duft control procedures
require using all of these
techniques,” he says. They are
all interrelated, and an ap
plicator’s ability to prevent drift is
really no better than the weakest
compu '<e ’'stem ”
plements in the world. The com
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troduced 20 new farm implements
in the past 12 month
More than 1500 configurations of
33 implements are manufactured
by Bush Hog and sold to both full
time and part-time farmers
throughout North America.
that post until becoming a field
sales representative.
In the new post, Chandler
supervises sales of PPG
biochemicals in all eastern
seaboard states, as well as Ver
mont, Pennsylvania and West
Virginia, and eastern portions of
Kentucky, Tennessee and
Alabama. He will be based in the
Southeast.
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